Monday Endorsement: finding some S.P.A.C.E.

I’m very proud to announce that our first ever Monday Product Endorsement is not a product at all (as you probably noted given the awkward omission of the word in this blog title) but a place: SPACE in Evanston, IL.

One of the biggest perks of being a fan of kind of obscure folk singers is that (if they tour) when you go see them in concert, you’re one of a couple hundred at the very most, never one of a couple thousand, or a couple hundred thousand, for that matter.  Case in point: last night Cheryl Wheeler played at SPACE, a fortunately pronouncable acronym for the Society for the Preservation of Arts and Culture in Evanston (imagine if they had been, say, the Group of People in Evanston Who Like Artsy Stuff, for example).   Cheryl Wheeler is one of my absolute favorite artists ever ever ever.  From hilariously insightful to heart-wrenchingly true, her lyrics tell stories and paint pictures, and her skillful and beautiful guitar playing carries them with me everywhere I go.  I fell in love with her during my junior year of college while dogsitting for a favorite professor of mine who owned some of her cds, and this is the third concert of hers I’ve been to.

And yeah, she always looks kind of like this: moppy hair, grey-ish t-shirt and sneakers, and she makes funny little faces while she sings.  And she’s like 60.  But once you’ve gotten over those aspects of this picture, I hope you notice the close proximity from which it is taken.  Now get this:  I’m not using a zoom.  For real.  One of my very favorite musical artists ever, of all time, someone I hugely admire and love, within easy spitting distance of where I sat for two hours.  Easy!  Not that I would ever spit on Cheryl Wheeler.

Mac and I didn’t know what to expect when we arrived at SPACE, with a small sign out front that read “Cheryl Wheeler @ 7:00″.  We went to get in line, as it was 6:30 and the concert was open seating, but found there was no line, or at least there wasn’t until we started one.  When they opened the doors, we had our pick of seats – about 20 small tables, only three rows deep, each surrounded by four chairs.  That’s it.  Capacity: 80.  We went straight for the front (obviously) and took our seats.  My jaw remained solidly dropped for at least five minutes, and I almost peed in my pants at least once, I was so excited.

Here are a couple more pictures of the venue:

The concert, of course, was amazing, hilarious, insightful, moving, perfect.  I love Cheryl Wheeler.  Mac loved Cheryl Wheeler.  This I had anticipated.  I endorse her every chance I get.  But we also really, really loved SPACE. What an awesome place to see a show!  Every spot was a good spot, and the extra super good spots (like the ones we had) weren’t hard to come by either.  Check out their website, see if anyone playing there looks interesting, and just go.   If you’re at a loss for what to see, I’d be more than happy to make recommendations (anyone free March 6?).

While I’m at it… if Cheryl Wheeler is ever in your neck of the woods, wherever your neck may be, just go see her too.

I’m so full of endorsements today!   This is going to be fun.

Tags: Chicago, music